


Hold Me Close

by HASA_Archivist



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: 3rd Age - The Stewards, Action
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 22:45:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3746362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HASA_Archivist/pseuds/HASA_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One part of Elladan and Elrohir’s life that they will never forget. <br/>A one chapter telling of Celebrian's last few months on Middle Earth...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hold Me Close

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the HASA Transition Team: This story was originally archived at [HASA](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Henneth_Ann%C3%BBn_Story_Archive), which closed in February 2015. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in February 2015. We posted announcements about the move, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this author, please contact The HASA Transition Team using the e-mail address on the [HASA collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hasa/profile).

Elladan woke. He spat the blood from his mouth, waited for some of the pain to fade, and then sat up. The ground was littered with elven warriors: the remains of Celebrían's guard. Something fluttered in the back of Elladan's mind. 

"Elrohir!" Elladan didn't need to look at the others, he knew instinctively where his twin lay. Elrohir's eyes were closed. "Elrohir?" Asked the elder twin as he took his brothers hand. Elrohir's eyes flickered then half opened. 

"I told you we should have taken the other way round." Elrohir smiled, despite the situation. 

Elladan smiled back, tears flooding his eyes, and threatening to spill. "Are you alright?" 

Elrohir eased himself into a sitting position. "I think so." He said gingerly, examining a deep wound on his side. "You?"

"Oh, err, I guess so." In truth Elladan had forgotten about his injuries; worry for his brother had caused the pain to flee. There was an arrow stuck in his leg, snapped down so that it would not catch, and several slashes on his chest. His hair was matted with blood from where he had fallen backwards and knocked himself out on the rocks. Elladan helped Elrohir up, and they looked helplessly at their fallen friends. 

"Are they all . . ." Elladan said nothing, but went to the nearest elf, and checked her pulse. Nothing. Together Elladan and Elrohir went through all the elven guard. 

"Elladan!" Elrohir cradled Glorfindel's head in his lap. "Elladan! Glorfindel yet lives." Elrohir began to search methodically for injuries or broken bones to the golden haired warrior. The captain of the Home Guard had taken a serious wound to his chest, as well as numerous injures in other places, but miraculously, he was yet breathing. Elladan arrived, carrying a skin with a little water in, and some strips of cloth. Together they bathed and bound Glorfindel's wounds. 

"Amillë is not here." Elladan told Elrohir as they worked. 

"Is she not? Did she escape?"

"I do not know. I have not started to look at the trails yet."

"Is anyone else missing?"

"Lothiel, Rochdil, Thoron, and Daedín."

Elrohir contemplated the new information. "Amillë would not have left us here."

"I know, but just the thought of the orcs having her . . ." Elladan's voice was quiet. He had already thought about this. 

"We must look for her."

"Of course you must." Elrohir almost dropped Glorfindel, who he was supporting. Neither of the twins had realised that he had woken. His voice was cracked and bitter, and as soon as he had finished talking he started to retch. Blood came up in a rush, and splattered over the elven prince supporting him. 

"Glorfindel . . . Here." Elladan gave the last of the water to the elder elf. 

"Thank-you." The golden haired elf closed his eyes for a few moments, and then started to stand up. 

"Glorfindel, stop! You must rest, you are injured."

Glorfindel fixed the twins with a withering glare that their father would have been proud of. "And you two are not." He continued to stand up. "Go after Celebrían. I shall . . . finish here. Are there any horses left?"

"No, they were all killed."

"Then you must walk. Fill your quivers first, you might need them, and be careful."

Elladan and Elrohir nodded. "What about you?"

"As I said, I will . . . tidy up here, then I shall carry on to Lothlórien, and send for help."

"Good luck, Glorfindel."

"Valar speed you . . ." Elrohir froze for a moment, and then did something he had not done for hundreds of years. He embraced the older elf, wrapping his arms lightly around his frail body, as not to worsen any of his injures. Glorfindel, in response wrapped his arms around Elrohir.

"Be careful. Both of you."

Elladan smiled. "We will."

~ * ~

Daedín woke, and immediately regretted it. The orcs that had taken her, her three comrades, and Celebrían had bound her tightly, and in an uncomfortable and demeaning position. It was difficult to breath, and her clothes were caked in blood. Daedín looked around as well as she could. Celebrían was curled up on the floor a little way to her left, and one of the other elves, probably Thoron, was tied with their back to hers. 

"Thoron?" Daedín whispered so quietly only another elf would have heard it. The orcs around them did not react. 

"Daedín." Thoron replied, and Daedín felt his finger touch the palm of her hand briefly. His voice was soft, a welcome relief to the grating voices of the orcs. 

"Are you alright?"

"As well as can be expected."

"Where are Lothiel and Rochdil?"

"I do not know. The orcs took them away, Lothiel first, then Rochdil a little while after. They have not returned." Daedín closed her eyes briefly; imagining what tortures the orcs must have put their friends though. She knew, instinctively, that they would not return. A slight shiver went down her back. Since the orc attack in the Redhorn pass she had seen more elf blood shed then she had in a lifetime. 

"Is Celebrían awake?"

"I think so." A faint surge of relief sped through the elven warrior. She would have given her life for the wife of her liege, for it was her duty, yet she felt for Celebrían as a friend also, and while they had been in Lothlórien she had gotten to know her better. The two elves spoke no more. An hour, maybe two passed, until an orc came up to them. It growled in it's guttural tones, seeing that they were awake, then took a knife from its belt, and slashed at the ropes that held Daedín and Thoron together. Thoron managed to catch her gaze briefly before he was taken away. Daedín felt tears fill her eyes. 

"Nuva I valar varyuvalyë, mélina minë, ar Namárië." She whispered, letting the tears fall down her cheek leaving a trail of white where the dirt of the past days had gathered. ~"May the Valar protect you, loved one, and fare well."~

~ * ~

Elladan and Elrohir jogged along, following the clear orc trail. The orcs had not been expecting anyone to follow them. The twins knew that they had their mother, as the orcs trail from the pass was the only one. Neither spoke, for they knew they were closing in on their quarry. They had not been that far behind . . .

Suddenly a small orc leapt from the bushes, taking both of them of guard. Elrohir recovered quickly, and before the orc could make a sound he embedded his short sword in its neck. 

"A scout." He said quietly, turning to his brother. "We are close."

Quietly the brothers passed the last piece of land between them and their mother. The sounds of the orc camp had reached the ears of the two elves a long time ago, and now it was loud and unpleasant, as was the stench of the foul beasts. Elladan and Elrohir crouched in a bush a short distance away. 

"We need to find out where Amillë is." Elrohir whispered. Elladan nodded. "You go left, and I'll go right." Silently the elves crept away, passing round the outside of the camp. There were no sentries; for the orcs were sure of their surroundings. Elrohir was the first back, and he sat silently waiting for his brother. 

"Now!" Whispered Elladan furiously as he came to his younger brother. "Now. They are torturing her." Elrohir stood up, his blade already in his hand. 

"What are we going to do?"

"I do not care! We cannot just stand back."

"I know, but neither can we just rush in."

"Well, you think of a better plan. Quickly." Elrohir shook his head; he could not. 

"Come on then!" Without waiting for his younger brother Elladan leapt from the bush. "Eärendil! Amillë, nar sinomëmmë!" ~"Mother, we are here!"~ 

Elrohir followed his brother blade in hand. "Elladan, wait for me! We must not become separated!" He cried, but a blood rush had come upon his older brother, and Elladan did not heed his words. "Elladan!" It was too late. Elladan was lost from his view, under a sea of orcs. Suddenly Elrohir realized that there was a clear path between him and his mother; the younger and less aggressive elf had been forgotten. Elrohir followed that path, slaying orcs as they crossed him, but not wasting time battling the ones that had their backs to him. Soon he reached his mother. There was an orc standing over her, and as Elrohir approached it stabbed down with the short knife that it held in its hands, almost desperately. It then reached for a curved sword that hung at its waist, and drawing it turned to face Elrohir. It said something in a tongue that Elrohir did not understand, but sent shivers up his spine anyway, before attacking with such speed and ferocity the elf was hard pressed to match. Almost by fluke he dodged the blade that came rushing down at him, but at the same time he wildly stuck with his sword, somehow managing to hit the unarmored area under the orcs armpits, rendering the orcs sword arm useless. Elrohir embedded his sword in its neck, then thrust the orc away, and knelt by his mother in one fluid motion.

"Y-y-yondo?" ~"S-s-son?"~ The elf-lady stammered in a voice that was barely more then a whisper. 

"Yé." ~"Yes"~ Elrohir placed his fingers on his mother's stomach, where a steady red stain was flowing through the material of her dress. He tore a strip of the hem of his cloak and bandaged the wound as best he could, all his senses on high alert, but the majority of the orcs seemed to be concerned with his brother, and no attention was paid to the younger twin. Sticking the orc's blade in his quiver almost automatically he lifted his mother from the ground. 

~ * ~

Elladan found the bodies of Lothiel, Rochdil, Thoron, and Daedín. A blood mist reddened his eyes, and he lost all sense of himself. The warrior hacked, slashed and thrust with his blade without thought, acting as a windstorm through a cornfield. 

Elrohir's cries went unheeded, and he carried on fighting. 

~ * ~

Elrohir stumbled along, fighting to keep himself upright. The wounds, which he had left untreated and unbound, were finally breaking through the elf's system. Celebrían had fallen unconscious a long time ago, worrying him. What if she never woke up . . .? Elrohir tripped over a stone, and for a while he did not have the strength to pick himself up. Celebrían had fallen just in front of him. Suddenly he was aware of someone standing by him . . . He tried to push himself up, but failed. A light hand turned him over, and lifted him up. Strong arms surrounded him, and he tried to clear the fog in front of his eyes. 

"Atar?" His voice was barely more than a whisper, yet the elf lord heard it. 

"I'm here. Elrohir. Where is Elladan?" A shiver went up the younger being's spine. 

"I – I left him! He didn't, he couldn't answer me when I called him . . . he was fighting the orcs." Elrohir blinked. "I have to go back for him!"

"No, come back to Lothlórien with me. Haldir is going to go back for him." Elrohir struggled in his father's arms. 

"No! Elladan . . . No!" Elrond laid his son on the floor, fearing that he would fall from his arms. 

"Elrohir. Calm down, it is all right."

"No! I must go back for Elladan."

"With all respects my lord, he is so distressed that it may be better to let him come. I will look after him." Haldir came, passed the elven lord some bandages, and stood at his side. Elrond began to treat his son's wounds.

"I do not want him to be in another battle in this state."

"I would not let him be. But it is his twin . . ." Half way through the sentence Haldir realised how silly that sounded. Lord Elrond had lost a twin. Yet what the Silvan elf said seemed to affect the Noldo. He nodded. 

"Look after him. I do not think I could bear to loose another family member." Haldir jumped lightly onto his horse, and Elrond placed the injured elf in his arms, all his wounds bandaged. Haldir spurred his horse, and he and twenty or so other elves sped off in the direction Elrohir had come from. Elrond climbed onto his own horse, taking his wife into his arms, and rode at full speed back to Lothlórien. 

~ * ~

Elrohir slept for most of the journey back to the orc camp, resting in Haldir's strong arms. He woke a little time before they arrived, sensing his brother's closeness. 

"We are close." 

The small, sad voice started the other elf who thought that he was still resting. "Are you all right, Elrohir?"

"I am fine . . . I just hope Elladan is too." The small troupe of warriors passed a small clump of bushes, which Elrohir recognised as the ones he and Elladan had hidden behind earlier. "It's here." They rode into a scene worse then the one at the mountain pass. All of the orcs, all of them were dead, their bodies covering the ground. 

And a little way a way from the orcs lay another pitiful bundle. 

~ * ~

The horses cantered into Caras Galadhon, and Orophin leapt from his, Elladan held tight in his arms. He ran as fast as he could, another elf with a lamp hurrying ahead of him. Haldir followed behind, supporting Elrohir. Orophin climbed the stairs of the Flet where Elrond was, taking them three at a time. He found Elrond on the top stair weeping. 

"My lord, Elladan . . . He killed all of the orc party." The awe in Orophin's voice was evident. "But I am no healer. I cannot tell if he lives. He needs you."

Elrond shook his head. "Do not give him to me to look after, I cannot heal the simplest of cuts. Take him somewhere where he shall be looked after well."

"What is wrong?"

"Celebrían!" Elrond cried, his voice full of fear and furry. "I cannot heal her wounds; they are poisoned."

"Atar . . . Here!" Elrohir arrived at the top of the stairs. He reached to his quiver, but fell from Haldir's grasp. The contents of his quiver fell everywhere, the orc knife that he had picked up earlier skidding to Elrond's feet. Elrond picked it up and examined it. A slow smile spread over his face. 

"Haldir, go and get Lady Galadriel, and Lord Celeborn. Orophin, please go and get some fresh water. Elrond stood up, and took Elladan from Haldir's arms. "Elrohir, come with me."

~ * ~

Elrohir sensed his brother waking, and walked over to him. Elladan's eyes fluttered open. 

"'Ro? How is Amillë?"

"She is fine, 'Dan, thanks to you."

"And you?"

"Nothing that will not heal. How do you feel?"

"Like I battled a hundred orcs." Elladan's smile was the most beautiful thing that Elrohir had seen in a while.

"I wonder why that would be, sir hero."

"Because I did?"

"Indeed, and if I ever catch either of you at it again, the pair of you will be in so much trouble." Elrond smiled at his sons. "How ever, I may have to let you off this time, as because I have been tending you I have yet to have the meeting with your grandmother that this whole trip was for."

The twinkle in Lord Elrond's eyes caused both twins to laugh, and it was so infectious soon all three of the elves were laughing, and it was to this sound that Celebrían awoke. 

~ * ~

All the Rivendell elves mounted their horses, as Celebrían went to say one final farewell to her parents. Although she was healed in body, she was yet to be healed in spirit, and she knew that she would not be healed in Middle Earth.

"Namárië, Amillë. I'll miss you." 

Galadriel hugged her daughter close. "You must tell Elrond soon."

"I will, Amillë, I promise you. Farewell, Atar."

"And you daughter. Take care on your road." She nodded, and then went to her own horse. 

"Namárië, Grandmother, Grandfather!"

"We promise to visit in better health next time!" Elrohir's comment caused a ripple of laughter to spread through the elves. 

"And so I should hope, clumsy little Elfling." Celeborn said, winking at them. 

~ * ~

Elrond sighed with relief. Ahead of them lay the ford of Bruinen. Elladan and Elrohir rushed ahead of their father, yelling at each other that they would be the first home. He turned around to look at his wife and daughter. Celebrían and Arwen rode side by side, talking quietly. He rode back to them. 

"It is good to be home, is it not?"

"No. Imladris is no longer my home, Elrond."

"Celebrían?" Arwen turned her head, then realising that she would not be able to avoid what was coming while she was still there went ahead to get Elladan and Elrohir. 

"I am not going to Imladris. I must carry on this road."

"You mean to cross the sea."

"Yes."

The simple answer was not enough for Elrond. "Why?"

"There is nothing left for me here." Celebrían dismounted, and Elrond did too. The two elves embraced.

"Then I shall come too."

"No, Elrond, you are needed here, on Middle Earth for a while longer, I know it."

"I cannot just let you go . . . I will miss you."

"It will only be for a short time."

~ * ~

The sea wind lifted all of the members of the small family's hair, causing it to whip around their faces. Círdan came down to meet them. 

"Well met Elrond Half-Elven."

"It has been to long." The two elves bowed polity, and then embraced each other. 

"Hello, Arwen, Elladan, Elrohir and Celebrían. Do you fare well?"

"Very well, thank you." Arwen answered for her brothers. 

"Círdan, you know why we are here."

"Aye. Come with me, I shall take you to your ship, Celebrían."

"Wait, I have not said goodbye, yet!" Celebrían turned back to her family. "Elladan, Elrohir, look after each other, and Arwen. And be careful! Arwen . . . oh Valar, what can I say? My heart tells me that we shall not meet again, but that cannot be right. Here, this is for you." She gave her daughter a silver necklace, which had been taken from Menegroth before it was destroyed. "Elrond, it will be too long until we next meet, so, please, look after yourself." Celebrían embraced each member of her family one more time, then turned back to Círdan. "Now I am ready."

~ * ~

The white sails of the ship had been hoisted, and the wind billowed in them, pushing the white ship from the dock. A song drifted back to the four elves standing on the dock.

"Hold me close

Hold me closer

And never forget

Never let the memory die

Tears run,

Let them come.

Just never forget.

It's alright to let the pain fade.

I must go.

I cannot stay.

I will never forget

I'll be there waiting for you.

Let me leave

For the white shores

I cannot stay in this world

There is nothing here for me

Anymore."

Word list (in no particular order)

Amillë: mother (Q.) 

Atar: father (Q.)

Namárië: farewell (Q.)

Lothiel: daughter of flowers (S.) 

Rochdil: horse lover (S.) 

Thoron: eagle (S.)

Daedín: Silent Shadow (S.)

Nuva I valar varyuvalyë, mélina minë, ar Namárië: May the Valar protect you, loved one, and fare well (Q.)

Nar sinomëmmë we: are here (Q.)

Yondo: son (Q.)

Yé: yes (Q.)


End file.
